The invention relates to an ignition device for gas discharge lamps, in particular for motor vehicle lights. The invention pertains to an ignition device of the general type in which a transformer has a secondary side that produces a gas discharge ignition voltage and a primary side that receives an alternating current produced from a direct current supply voltage.
Recently, various proposals have been made to use gas discharge lamps in motor vehicles, in particular in headlights. In addition to a longer service life, there are also advantages with regard to efficiency. Thus, for example, the same light intensity can be achieved with substantially less energy.
To turn on gas discharge lamps, ignition devices or ignition circuits are required, which produce the required high ignition voltage. Ignition devices of this kind are known, for example, from "Lamps and Lighting", Third Edition, 1983, Edward Arnold, pp. 292, 293. An ignition device is described there that has two transformers, wherein a device with controllable switches converts the direct current supply voltage into a pulsed voltage for powering the primary winding of the first transformer. A problem with it is its susceptibility to malfunction and its structural size, since rough vehicle use demands components that are not susceptible to malfunction and subassemblies that do not require much space.